UNSOLVED SCIENTIFIC MYSTERIES

WHAT IS THE UNIVERSE MADE OF?

Atoms, the building blocks of everything around us, only

account for 5% of the total matter in the universe. The other 95%

has come to be called dark matter and dark energy. Apart from

giving the mystery matter a name, though, not much is

known about it.

WHY DO WE DREAM?

In spite of spending nearly 1/3 of our lives doing it, we still don’t

really have any clue as to why. Some possible explanations may be

that it helps with memory and learning.

WHY DO WE EVEN SLEEP?

Taking things back a bit further, scientists aren’t even clear on why

we actually need to sleep.

WHERE DO WE PUT ALL THE CARBON?

Ever since the industrial revolution, we’ve been sending most of the

carbon that was hidden beneath the surface of the Earth up into

the atmosphere. The question is…how do we put it back?

HOW DO WE GET MORE ENERGY FROM THE SUN?

Since fossil fuels are a finite source of energy, we will eventually

need more and the sun seems to be the most likely candidate.

The only question is, how?

What’s up with prime numbers?

Prominently used in cryptography to keep your Amazon shopping cart

secure, there is a weirdness to prime numbers that mathematicians

over the centuries have yet to figure out. The Riemann hypothesis,

an apparent pattern within the primes, has baffled minds for

hundreds of years.

How do we beat bacteria?

With the overuse and misuses of antibiotics gradually making most

forms of bacteria resistant, science needs to come up with an answer.

Among the top contenders is DNA sequencing and deep sea

searches for new strains.

CAN COMPUTERS KEEP GETTING FASTER?

Your iPhone is more powerful than the computer that took NASA to

the moon. Will this sort of advancement in computer power continue?

In large it depends on things such as quantum computing.

WILL WE EVER CURE CANCER?

Unfortunately cancer seems to be built into our genes and the longer

you live the higher your chances of acquiring some form of it.

On the flip side, however, up to 50% of cancers are preventable.

Just don’t smoke, drink and eat moderately, stay active, and

avoid over exposing yourself to the sun’s radiation.